Special thanks to Topps for sending us their newest product to review! :thumb:


http://www.blowoutcards.com/images/basketball/0809toppsmuradBKB.jpg


Product Description
24 packs per box
6 cards per pack
MSRP: $59.99-79.99


Product Highlights
2008/09 Topps T-51 Murad Basketball brings you back in time to 1910, featuring the Murad design from the first basketball cards which were created almost 100 years ago! These cards feature the best players in the NBA and offer unique mini silk and suede parallel cards! Each hobby box guarantees one autograph and one relic card!

EVERY 24-PACK HOBBY BOX CONTAINS:
- 1 Autographed Card
- 1 Relic Card
- 1 T-6 Cabinet Box Loader
- 4 Rookie Variations Cards
- 8 Short-Printed Cards
- 24 Mini-Parallel Cards

Content Breakdown
BASE CARDS
- Rookies(30)
*Rookie Variations(20) - 4 per box.
- Veterans(170)
- Short-Prints(30) - 8 per box.

MURAD MINI PARALLEL CARDS - 24 PER BOX!
- Hobby Exclusive! Printing Plates(250 subs/1000 plates) - 1 of 1.
- Hobby Exclusive! Framed Suede(250) - 1 of 1.
- Framed Silk(250) - #"d to 25.
- Black Border(250) - 2 per box.
- Murad(250) - 1 per pack.

INSERT CARDS - 1 PER PACK!
- Action Cards(30)

FRAMED AUTOGRAPHED CARDS - 1 PER BOX!
- T-51(50)
*Suede Parallel - 1 of 1
*Silver Parallel - #'d to 10.
*Black Parallel - #'d to 25.

FRAMED RELIC CARDS - 1 PER BOX!
- T-51(50)
*Suede Parallel - 1 of 1
*Silver Parallel - #'d to 10.
*Black Parallel - #'d to 51.

CABINET CARD BOX LOADERS - 1 PER BOX!
- Hobby Exclusive! T-6(20)
*Silver Parallel - #'d to 10.
*Black Parallel - #'d to 51.

MURAD COUPONS
- Hobby Exclusive! Murad Coupons(51)


What we pulled...

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLVW5dIDJ0w

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Q2J21pP2U

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAjegzEjSX0


Reviewer note: I mistakenly said O.J. Mayo on a pull when it is Mike Conley.

Base: 76/200 (38%; 8 SP base; no duplicates)
Rookies: 20
Minis: 24 (including six rookies)
Checklists/Action cards: 21

Paul Pierce Cabinet Box Loader/Topper. Once you open the box, you are greeted towards this sealed box loader. We pulled a non numbered version.
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad003.jpg


Base cards. Bill Russell (retired), Shawn Marion (veteran), and Kevin Durant (young star SP). Horizontal variations of Tony Parker and Kevin Garnett.
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad001.jpg


Rookie cards. D.J. Augustin, Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love. The Love is a variation. Rookie Variations run four per box.
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad004.jpg


Mini parallels and action shot checklist cards. Mini cards fall per pack with numbered framed parallels randomly inserted. We pulled several different checklist cards. To form a checklist set, you need five cards. Minis here are Amare Stoudemire (veteran), Karl Malone (retired), and Eric Gordon (rookie).
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad002.jpg

Mike Conley Framed Mini Silk parallel (9/25). Framed Minis can usually be found one per box.
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad006.jpg


Paul Pierce Framed Relic. We pulled a non numbered version. One relic per box.
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad005.jpg


Michael Beasley Framed Autograph Rookie! We pulled a non numbered version. One autograph per box.
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o408/SCFBasketball/Sponsored%20Breaks/09%20Murad/murad007.jpg


Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set: 4/5
Fun: 4/5
Overall design: 4.5/5
Value: 4.5/5
Re-buy: 4/5

Overall: 21/25 (84%)


Topps goes for a vintage look with Topps T-51 Murad. The base design is very unique and artsy mixing an old look with new flavor. The result is a very impressive base design. The base set consists of 200 cards. 1-170 and 210-230. I believe 201-230 are SP base. Base set is also a mixture of veterans, young stars, and retired players. Player names are not located on the front of the card. Back of the cards have the player name, career stats, and bio.

But, contradicting what Murad is all about is the checklist cards. We pulled 21, which was about one per pack. Checklists are thicker and so look to be fillers for the framed cards. Personally, some sort of other thick card insert set (maybe gold parallel?) could have been inserted instead. Checklist cards feature nice action shots but does not flow with the rest of the product design. Mini cards are a nice addition. Minis fall one per pack.

There are 30 rookies in the set. Rookie variations can be identified with the flag in the background. We pulled twenty different rookie cards; three were variations. I believe variations can be identified by the horizontal design. We also pulled six rookie minis.

Clearly, the best card pulled in the box was the Michael Beasley Rookie Autograph. Value is unknown, but this is one of the best non numbered autographs one can pull from this set. This is why we bust boxes...for the big hits. Other nice pulls were the Paul Pierce Relic and the Mike Conley insert numbered to /25. All three of these cards were framed. Framed design is very unique and offers collectors something different that we normally don't see it sets. My main complaint about the framed cards is the mini card inside the frame wasn't straight! The Beasley auto just doesn't look right since its tilted inside the frame. What happened?

Overall, I enjoyed busting this box. It was a bit difficult to identify the player on the card without looking at the back for their name. This and checklists were my only complaints about this set. Murad is an excellent mid end set that will appeal to many types of collectors. I've already seen many great pulls here on SCF. Check out the box break forum!

Once again, I'd like to thank Topps for being a great sponsor and providing us with this newly released product to review. :love0030:

Thank you Topps! SICK Beasley and lots of Lakers! Although I didnt like the photography selection on the "Garnett stuffing Kobe" as Ash put it. lol

Very nice cards Ash, love the vintage look!

Sweet Beasley!

I also like the vintage look, very nice cards..Thanks Ed

Ash,
Great review and thanks to Topps for sending this box are way. Love the photo's of the cards you took as well.


DOn

Nice review Ash. Nice hit on the Beasley.

Wow nice Beasley card!

sweet cards pulled, i really like this design

The design is great. Before it came out, a lot of what we heard was it was going to be basketball's version of Allen & Ginter. However, I feel Murad is its own set with the different look to the cards. Really love the way the logos are done and the painted look. Nice job Topps. Great review.

Nice looking set! Great job on the break and the review!

Thanks Topps!

Darin

Great review Ash, and really sweet break! I like the looks of the cards - very retro looking. Plus, it's cheap, and there seem to be some very nice pulls! Thanks Topps!

Thanks to Topps for the Box and thanks to Ash for the Review. I like the look of the Auto's in these i might pick up a box to break myself.

Dave

Nice review ash,Sweet looking cards thanks topps.Take care Steve

nice stuff, thanks to topps...not sure if i like the look or not...i like that it's different, but not sure if I like it more then that. Nice Beasley!

Nice review - I like the looks of these a lot.

I just bought a pack of this tonight, and i pulled 2 rookies in one pack. A mini Beasley and a Courtney Lee in the same pack

Thanks again Topps! You guys are leading the universe in new vintage style cards that can't be beat!

Although I'm not a huge fan of checklists but if it's used as a filler to prevent pack searching, I think it's fine :)

Looks like a great product! wish i got that box, a couple really nice pierces and a kg.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks again to Topps for the wonderful box!

wow really nice vintage look to these. might just have to pick some of these up!

Nice review Ash! I'm not a fan of art cards, but these look nice. Looks like some nice stuff for the SCF members.

Cool cards! I am not a basketball card fan usually, but the vintage look went over great for me in this set. Nice review and awesome hits! Conley = The Ohio State University!

Love this set nice silk card I plan on getting a bunch of them they are preety cheap on ebay atm... one question how does it feel is it really silk? I think all Im going to do is some silk and a RC set nice break thanks UD!

Great Box Break. The cards look awesome.

I love the look of these cards. I love old school cards and the design of these cards make it an old school feeling. Thanks Topps for allowing this break to SCF!

I purchased my first box of this last week and ordered one more box today. These cards are absolutely beautiful. I love the painted/drawn look.

wow, nice beasley auto!

i generally like throwback designs (such as the insert sets in the regular topps, and the topps style from a few years ago), but i don't really like this one. i wish there was a name on the front of the card. the cards are kinda artsy. but hey it's something different compared to all the regular photographs we have in other products so it's still a cool set.

Great Looking Cards

Some Nice Pulls

Thanks Topps

Mike

Interesting stuff! I'm definitely interested in getting some of these after viewing the review. The mix of old and new is definitely very cool! :party0048:

Nice stuff, I like the box itself, I collect cigar boxes,reminds me of a few boxes I have.

The retro design to these cards is awesome, even if the pictures, at times, have a cartoony quality to them. Overall, a nice different approach!

Scobes

I really, really like these cards with the exception of distinguishing marks on the framed cards. I pulled a silk Hakeem Warrick and didn't know who it was until I researched his jersey #.

Other than that, A+ product :)

I really like the "old time" look of this set. Awesome job Topps!!!!!

i bought a blaster of these- and was not impressed- it seemed that the player collation featured mediocre players more than stars- and if you are going to do a set with retired legends, take out the mid level modern players and make the set more star based.
that said, I do like the design of the cards- and would probably be able to make a more accurate assessment of the set if I had purchased a hobby box instead...

I'm not usually a big fan of the older looking stuff, but these are pretty nice. Plus, looks like a decent checklist with some of the retired legends in there. Thanks for the break and the great review!!

Personally, I believe this product will be one of the best "cheap" products out there. It is up there with 06/07 Fleer EX, though it's around 10-20 dollars more expensive depending on where you buy them.

The break was pretty good. There was a nice Beasley R.C. auto, and the Finals MVP GU and boxtopper.

I also love those silk cards. I love the design, and of course the rare numbering!

I must have gotten jipped the last time around. I got ZERO augographs in my box.

I must have gotten jipped the last time around. I got ZERO augographs in my box.

It seems that overall the correlation is good, but there are a few lopsided boxes out there. In my first box, I got my "guaranteed" auto and GU and a bonus silk card...but in the second box I opened, I got 2 autos, 1 GU, and a printing plate...I think I got your auto :(

It seems that overall the correlation is good, but there are a few lopsided boxes out there. In my first box, I got my "guaranteed" auto and GU and a bonus silk card...but in the second box I opened, I got 2 autos, 1 GU, and a printing plate...I think I got your auto :(


It's okay. It's still a solid box, mistakes happen all the time! I love the way these cards look though. Very thick and sturdy.

I love the look of these cards, and I love all of the vintage players in the set. My favorite basketball set this year by far!

I like the design.